Alabama man indicted on nine counts of rape, nine counts of sexual battery
Staff report
WARREN
An Alabama man has been indicted on nine counts of rape and nine counts of sexual battery that police said involved a 17-year-old girl at the Motel 30 in Liberty earlier this month.
Tommy R. Edwards, 41, of Attalla, Ala., is in the Trumbull County jail in lieu of $1 million bond after being arrested April 14 at the motel, which is on Motor Inn Drive.
The indictment accuses Edwards of raping the girl and engaging in other sexual conduct with her April 12 and at other times in April. If convicted, Edwards could get 100 or more years in prison.
The Trumbull County grand jury also Wednesday indicted Lamar A. Mitchell, 32, of addresses in Warren, Niles and Youngstown, on two counts of aggravated arson and one count of felony burglary.
Police allege Mitchell set fire to his girlfriend’s house on Arthur Drive Northwest on March 16, a short time after he purportedly assaulted her and threatened to burn up her house.
He also tried to set the gas tank in her car on fire that morning, the woman told police.
The woman was not home when the fire occurred, but it caused about $25,000 in damage, authorities said.